Governments have created postal services for collecting, sorting and distributing the mail. The United States Postal Service (USPS) typically charges mailers for delivering the mail. Mailers may pay the USPS for its service by purchasing a stamp, i.e., a printed adhesive label or tape, issued by the postal service at specified prices, that is affixed to all letters, parcels or other mail matter to show prepayment of postage. Another means of payment accepted by the USPS is mail that is metered by a postage meter. Postage meters are approved by the USPS and licensed to the meter user by the meter manufacturer. A postage meter is an electromechanical device that maintains, through “electronic registers” or “postal security devices,” an account of all postage printed, and the remaining balance of prepaid postage; and prints postage postmarks (indicia) or provides postage postmarks (indicia) information to a printer, that are printed and accepted by the USPS as evidence of the prepayment of postage.
The USPS currently handles large volumes of normal mail, i.e., first class mail, second class mail, third class mail, etc. The USPS also handles large quantities of special service mail, i.e., priority mail, certified mail, registered mail, etc. For all of the above types of mail the physical contents of the mailing is not written on the face of the mail.
Currently the USPS does not charge the mailer additional fees for the mailing of goods that may have special treatment requirements, i.e., mail that needs to be refrigerated and/or mail that has certain pressure requirements. Examples of mail that may require special treatment requirements are radioactive materials; chemical compounds; poisons; carcinogenic materials; caustic chemicals; drugs; biological materials; viruses; vaccines; DNA; blood samples; food; plants; photosensitive materials; thermo-sensitive materials; etc.
Many different categories of goods are ordered and delivered via the USPS. Oftentimes, it is legal for a purchaser to buy certain categories of goods and illegal for the purchaser to buy other categories of goods. For instance, each of the components of a submachine may be legally purchased by an ordinary citizen without a license, while the complete submachine gun may not be legally purchased by an ordinary citizen without a license. Heretofore, the USPS was unable to determine when people were purchasing goods from one shipper that may be combined with other goods that were purchased from different shippers to produce illegal goods.
Soon after the Sep. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States, someone and/or a group of people has been adding harmful biological agents to the mail. The addition of harmful biological agents to the mail submitted to the USPS has caused the death of some people and necessitated the closure of some postal services, other government office buildings, and some businesses. Thus, there is an urgent need for the USPS to be aware of the contents of mail.